The making of Melanite
by Flipside7
Summary: Richard has his story on how he became robin. His sister has her story on becoming Melanite. Both have their own path to becoming a hero but are drastically different. Warning, this is a crossover with a few things and has multiple oc's. It is set after Robin loses his parent's and then a four year gap to the young justice we know. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1

A/N: I do not own anything of young justice and xiaolin showdown that I may use throughout this story. This is purely for entertainment.

The last performance.

The rain drizzled down the black cab's windows and the only noise inside was the wipers swinging side to side. In the rear seats a girl dressed in all black who gazed outside whilst the boy next to her just stared at his hands. He too was dressed in black. He gave the girl a quick glance but she didn't respond. She was too deep in thought about what had happened. What that man had done. What that monster had done. They were all dead now because of him. The girl and the boy next to her were the only ones of the flying Grayson's. They had both lost those who were dear to them. They only had each other now.

They arrive at the manor. The manor of Bruce Wayne, who had taken them under his wing. He had been there that night as well. Perhaps because he too turned an orphan when he was a child was he showing them kindness now the girl pondered. What few belongings they had brought with them were brought inside. An elderly man in a tux welcomed them with a warm smile,

"Ah, master Richard and Zinira. If you follow me I'll show you to your rooms so you can get settled in." Bruce watched them follow Alfred up the stairs before making his way to urgently finding an answer to his question. Richard and Zinira had rooms next to each other. Richard was unpacked within minutes. With nothing better to do he decided to check on his sister in the next room. He knocked and then poked his head in. She was sitting on the bed staring out of the window with her bag still next to her. Richard came in and sat by her. Still nothing from her.

"You know, it wasn't very nice when you didn't talk to the police or mister Wayne." He said trying to break her trance. Whilst they had all tried to get an explanation on how she managed to put one of the mobsters into a coma; all she had given in return was a cold stare back from those grey eyes. She stirred.

"Mother and Father always said that it should be kept a secret." She murmured. They had found out about her "little secret" when she was creating sparks between her fingers and a metal pole. It came to a shock when she suddenly jumped from creating sparks to a full blown electrical current that induced a coma. Richard thought for a moment.

"It's okay; I'll keep it a secret!" Richard said with a huge beam on his face. Zinira couldn't help but smile a little. He was always the cheerful one when she needed it. There was a knock on the door and Alfred came in with a silver tray with two cups on it.

"There you are master Richard; I have prepared some warm milk for you both before you go to bed. I'm sure you're both tired." After they drank their milk they went to their own beds.

That night Zinira had the strangest dream. There was a bald man in orange clothes. He was with a green lizard on his shoulder. She knew where they were because she had been there herself not long ago. It was a huge central park with winding paths and vast amounts of grass perfect for dog owners playing fetch. The sun was just starting to rise. The man was looking for somebody. Zinira didn't know why but she felt as if he was looking for her. She suddenly woke up sitting up. She was breathing heavily. It felt like what she had seen was very real. Looking outside the window she saw the sun just starting to rise. _Funny, it had been like that in the dream too_ she thought. She stood up and started to get dressed. She was about to do a second crazy act in her life, to see if the man really was there. Jeans, trainers, long sleeved top and jacket would be fine. Every single item of clothing she owned was black. What could she say, black was a good colour. She looked out the window to check how high up she was. It was fine; she had climbed down from higher and with fewer places to grapple. Before she could start she thought about her brother waking up and she wasn't here. She crept into his room and shook him gently.

"Whaddayouwan." He grumbled.

"Just letting you know I'm going out and I will see you later."

"Where are you going?" he said starting to sit up.

"Nowhere special, I'll see you later okay."

"Okay…" He said uncertainly. As she left for the door he blurted out,

"Wait! Promise you will come back."

"I just said I would."

"But promise!"

"Fine." She sighed. "I promise I will promise to come back. Happy?" Richard nodded his head and started settling down again.

Zinira made quick work of climbing down and ran for the park. Fifteen minutes later she arrived and wondered about, trying to find the exact place she had seen in her dream. After a while when the sun got higher she began to think that what she had seen was just that, a dream. At least she got a chance to break away from everything that had happened lately…

The next thing she knew she had come to a complete stop because in front of her was the man in the dream.


	2. Chapter 2

The new routine.

Four years later…

Zinira stood in the courtyard she had just swept the fallen leaves away, admiring the view. The paved courtyard was where all the xiaolin monks practiced their martial arts. It was one of the largest courtyards to sweep but it was on her chore rota. She put the broom away and went for some tea before she trekked to the village down the mountain. On the way she bumped into master monk Guan who was, as Zinira put it, "the head teacher". He had been the one to tell her about her destiny four years ago when she was only twelve. They bowed respectfully to one another, as was traditional.

"I have a message for you from the xiaolin dragon warriors. They send their gratitude for the time you, Rose and Aaron spent with them collecting Shen gong wu."

Shen gong wu were magical items which both xiaolin and heylin sides fought over. Each item had its own unique magical property.

"Thanks for the message, I will let Rose and Aaron know when I see them." Zinira replied.

The elder monk nodded in agreement. After they parted, Zinira got her green tea and continued to the village. She carried two baskets on either end of a wooden staff that she balanced on her shoulders. They were full of vegetables that the monks had grown for trade. Zinira always volunteered for this task because it was refreshing to get away from her training and gave her the opportunity to keep in touch with what was happening in the rest of the world. There was a nice elderly lady who was always happy to trade supplies with any member of the xiaolin temple. Her name was Huan. It was really to tell that Zinira was training at the temple. She wore the standard red tunic with flared sleeves, black trousers, socks and pumps. She had a dark blue belt around her waist like her other team mates. When Zinira had first met Huan, she had said that she would never pass up the opportunity to trade for the sweet potatoes from the temple. Huan herself was easy to distinguish from a crowd. Her grey hair was always up in a high bun and she always carried a red fan with Chinese inscriptions on the edges. Zinira had never got close enough to actually read what they said though. Not only did Huan trade red material, but kept aside newspapers her nephew brought to her over the weeks.

"Thank you Zinira. These will make a nice supper; here are the papers from the last four weeks." Huan said handing a pile if newspapers tied together with a piece of string to Zinira.

"Thank you, I hope you enjoy your supper." With that Zinira left taking her trade and the newspapers to a meadow not far from the village. This gave her the chance to flit through the papers and see what was new. Mostly it was just celebrity scandal but the odd useful thing did turn up.

July 19th **The sidekicks group together and defeat new villain.**

At about two o'clock yesterday, new group of hero's defeated a new android villain threatening to cause major damage or worse to happy harbour. The group comprised of sidekicks of the justice league, (Kid Flash, Robin and Aqualad) and some new additions, both of which have not been identified as of yet. A local who witnessed 15 minutes of this battle described the new additions as a green girl and a look alike of Superman himself. The android in question has been taken away for further investigation by the justice league.

Zinira quickly skimmed over the rest of the article for any more important information. It only went onto the witnesses account on how he saw a boat fly through the air or something like that. Ever since Zinira had heard about this "Batman" had taken up a sidekick called robin in the city of Gotham, well it didn't take long for her to recognise her only brother. Especially since he went by the name of Robin, which had been his nickname in the circus. Which gave Zinira a good hunch who Batman was. So, Richard was moving on from being a sidekick to a team member. Every time Zinira had gotten titbits of new on him through this hero behind a mask Zinira felt both the deep affection for her little brother and profound sadness. She was happy to now roughly how he was but she so desperately wanted to see him again. _Why not? _Her brain pointed out. It was a good point. Before it had been her training and then she had gotten herself tangled in 1500 year old war. But now it had settled, since Raimundo had been made Shoku, both Xiaolin and Heylin sides were at equilibrium. She wasn't necessarily needed any more. Sure, there would be the odd occasions where a vault full of Shen Gong Wu might be stolen and she would come back to help, but other than that she was just on the side-line. She thought of Rose and Aaron, over the time of being part of a team with them she had grown close to them. She would miss them a lot but she would see them again. A plot formed in her head. With the use of some Shen Gong Wu, she could find her brother and fulfil the promise she had made that morning. With this she headed to the temple with confidence in every step she made. She was going to see her brother again.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N= Sorry for the short chapters, I will try and extend them.

Departure and a surprise.

"Welcome back o mighty dragon of lightning. Where have thou been? Perhaps you have a gripping tale to tell?" Aaron said in the red tunic and black trousers all the members of the team wore, his voice dripping with sarcasm. He was skipping his allotted time to meditate, again.

"Just to the village to trade our sacred sweet potatoes for fine robes." Zinira replied also adding a hint of sarcasm. Aaron was always up for a crusade of wits. He was the dragon of metal and had come from a wealthy family in London. Despite his background, he was no snobbish brat. He cared for others and was relaxed pretty much all the time. He had the ability to control all things metal; he could alter the shape of the metal and send it flying to the nearest bad guy. He had dark blond hair up to mid back neck and twinkling blue eyes that were more than often filled with curiosity. He had a keen interest in engineering and was always looking at how things worked, right down to the locks in doors. He was seventeen. Aaron asked,

"Well, was there anything interesting in the news?" Both he and Rose knew about Robin. Zinira chucked him the newspaper with the article that had caught her interest.

"Here. I'm going to put the robes away, back in a sec." She put the robes away and the rest of the newspapers beside the stove to fuel the fire. When she got back to the hall where Aaron was she found Rose looking over Aaron's shoulder to see the article herself. She was the dragon of plants; she could manipulate them in various ways. From making them grow to enormous sizes to wrapping vines around enemies. She had come from the USA like Zinira but had no parent's and was raised in an orphanage until master monk Guan stepped in. She was the youngest of the team at fifteen and was the first one to be chosen by the ancient scroll out of the trio at the age of seven. She had sea green eyes and dark thick red hair that was ridiculously long. It came to her knee's when it was down but most of the time it was in an abundant plait up to her bum, the same type of plait Zinira had for her long fine black hair. Only, that came to her mid spine and was nowhere near as impressive. Rose had gotten her name because of her hair. When she had been left at the orphanage's doorstep, she had not been given a name. So the people working there decided to call her rose since her hair was the same shade as a rose. Zinira could tell from the mud on Rose's knees that she had been gardening with Chen. He was a monk that used to travel the world exploring for new plants and discovering their properties. Rose had an intense passion for nature and enjoyed her sessions with Chen. They noticed Zinira come in, Rose was the first to speak,

"Sounds like your little brother has been busy." Her voice was like a water fountain, so light and peaceful. She scanned Zinira's face, her brow furrowed slightly.

"What's wrong Zinira?" Being the most sensitive of the team she instantly recognised Zinira troubled. Aaron also was now analysing her. Zinira was contemplating telling them her plans. They may not even work considering she needed some Shen Gong Wu and master monk Guan may not allow it. Zinira decided to tell them, they were pretty much family to Zinira.

"I've decided I'm leaving… to see my brother." Zinira said hesitantly. Both Aaron and Rose wore shocked expressions. Aaron was the first to recover,

"Well since you're the most stubborn girl I know, when do we leave?" He said in a cheerful tone.

"What do you mean _we?_" said Zinira suspiciously.

"Well seeing as we are the evolutionary dragon warriors and we will always be a team plus best friends I can't let you have all the fun. What about you Rose?"

"I'm coming too." She said adamantly. Now it was Zinira's turn to look shocked. She had not foreseen this.

"But… we can't all leave. What about protecting Shen Gong Wu and keeping the Heylin side at bay?" Zinira said exasperated.

"One, you know the other dragon warriors have everything under control. Two, master monk Guan and the other monks are very capable at defending the Shen Gong Wu since there is hardly anybody left on the Heylin side. Three, it will be really easy to keep in contact just in case something goes wrong, use Shen Gong Wu and we are back here in an instant! Me and Rose are not needed here either." He smiled overruling my objection with logic.

"You would really come with me? Rose are you sure? This temple is more your home than either of us, do you really want to leave?" Zinira said focusing on Rose.

"It is about time that went to see the outside world, or as they say fly from the nest. I am really curious of the world outside these temple walls, I have only seen glimpses of it when we collect Shen Gong Wu and my memories of when I was a child are dim. So yes I really do want to go with you and it's not like I won't ever come back here, I can visit any time I feel homesick." Rose said with a serene smile. Tears were threatening to build in Zinira's eyes realising what they both would do for her, after keeping her breathing in check and calmed herself she said to them both,

"Thank you so much"

"No problem, I was getting bored with no Heylin but to kick anyway." Aaron shrugged. "So what Shen Gong Wu are we taking and when are we telling Guan?"

"Hopefully, he will let us take the golden tiger claws and the lost compass." Zinira glanced out the window at the setting sun. "I shall tell him tomorrow."

"Cool. Looks like we've got a busy day tomorrow. I've just got one quire, how are we going to get about when we get there? Wouldn't it be best to bring the shifting sphere as well?"

"Well, we will see what master monk Guan says tomorrow."

"What if he says no?" said Rose in a quiet voice. The three were silent. All of knew that Guan was fair but strict, especially about Shen Gong Wu.

"We shall see what tomorrow brings." Zinira said solemnly. Both Aaron and Rose knew that look on Zinira's face. I t was the look of determination and nothing was going to get in her way. She would walk all the way to America if she had to. After they all said goodnight, Aaron went to the men's quarters. Rose and Zinira went to the female quarters. Rose slept in the next cubicle to Zinira. Once they were ready for bed and lay on their mats on the floor, Rose said,

"Good night Zinira, hope the shadow of fear doesn't stalk your dreams."

"You too Rose, goodnight." Both of them drifted into a sound sleep.

The next morning… at five am.

Zinira was in the training courtyard performing her daily Tia Chi. She had learned a lot from master monk Guan and had gone even further into the practice, gaining the ability to manipulate Chi. She loved Tia Chi; it gave her control over her powers. Her limbs flowed through the motions and her breath always steady. After her Tai Chi, at around six, she found Rose and Aaron at the breakfast table. Rose was having her usual vegetarian selection of fruit and Aaron was munching down on an English traditional egg and sausage sandwich. Zinira made a bowl of porridge and sat next to her teammates.

"When today are you going to tell Guan?" Aaron asked looking up from his weekly cars magazine that his parents sent him.

"This afternoon, after training." Replied Zinira.

Before training however they had chores so the three were split up for some time but came together again for warm ups before training. They used to do stretch together but not anymore. Thanks to Kimiko, Zinira had become fanatic over urban dancing. She had first seen it on a device Kimiko had and was fascinated. Sure Zinira could still do gravity defying stunts from her time at Haley's circus but this street dancing was different. It wasn't about routine, it was expressing yourself. Totally the opposite from Tai Chi. After Kimiko saw how much Zinira was interested, she bought Zinira a music player that played music out loud and had videos of people performing urban dancing for Christmas. Ever since then, Zinira spent whatever free time she had learning how to dance, which was quite a lot since she did not need to sleep as much due to her powers increasing. Soon Rose had an idea. Why don't they incorporate it into their training and did it together as a team building exercise. So from then on they found a quite part of the temple, where they wouldn't disturb any of the other monks, and used street dancing as a warm up exercise. Aaron in particular found that he had gained some agility but was nothing compared to Zinira who could bend over backwards and touch the floor with her hands whilst her feet were still on the floor.

That afternoon's training session was facing the Shen Gong Wu sweet baby among us who had been given the tangle web comb to make the training exercise that bit more difficult. After a while, Rose redirected the combs wires along with using her own element to tangle the giant golden baby up, which allowed Aaron and Zinira to deliver the final blow together.

"Well done, dragon of plants, combing your element with the Shen Gong Wu was a good idea" Master Monk Guan praised Rose. Rose returned it with blushing cheeks. "You have all done well. Let us have a drink." He continued. Once they were all sitting down having green tea Zinira thought it would be the best time to tell master monk Guan their plans.

"Master, we have all made a decision. We would like to go to America. We would still keep in touch and wouldn't hesitate to come back any time." Zinira said sincerely.

"And we need some Shen Gong Wu… please?" Aaron injected. A tick mark formed over Zinira's forehead. Whatever happened to wait and see what he said? After Guan had processed what they had said he replied,

"Why do you wish to go to America?"

"Because I need to fulfil a promise I made long ago." Zinira said whilst staring at her tea cup.

"And me and Rose want to tag along." Aaron said chirpily. Master Monk Guan studied Zinira for a while then finally said,

"Very well, you will stop by master Fung's temple to arrange with Kimiko on how you will keep in touch and I shall select the Shen Gong Wu you will take. But I want you all to swear secrecy not to tell anybody about the Shen Gong Wu or let them fall into others hands; as those with evil in their hearts will flank the heylin side." All of the dragon warriors promised they would keep the Shen Gong Wu a secret. "Go and pack your things and I shall choose the Shen Gong Wu you shall take." All of them bowed to master monk Guan and departed.

Zinira had little to pack; a few clothes that she had got whilst shopping with Kimiko and Rose were included. Zinira shuddered at the memory of spending nine hours going through clothes store after clothes store. Rose and Kimiko had thoroughly enjoyed themselves though. Both Aaron and Zinira were both ready but Rose took a little longer. She was saying goodbye to Chen and the temple which she had come to call home. Once they were all ready, they made their way to the main hall of the temple. Master Monk Guan had laid some Shen Gong Wu out on a long wooden table and a brown cotton satchel that went over the shoulder.

"You will take the golden tiger claws to go wherever you will and the lost compass so you may always find us. Additionally you will take one Shen Gong Wu each of your choice, choose wisely." Zinira looked over the many Shen Gong Wu on the table. She settled for the eye of Dashi as it would be useful in dire circumstances to boost her own powers. She placed the necklace with the ruby around her neck and stepped back.

"Sports cars here I come." Aaron said enthusiastically choosing the sphere shifter, picking up a silver metal ball the size of a tennis ball and putting it his pocket. Rose was contemplating then she found one she wanted reaching out for the golden roman styled Wushu helmet. Master monk Guan put the golden tiger claws and the lost compass in the satchel and handed it to Rose.

"Your style of fighting is defensive whilst both Aaron and Zinira are offensive. You will be the best candidate to keep the Shen Gong Wu safe if it ever came to that. Both Zinira and Aaron will protect you, I have no doubt about that, so you can protect the Shen Gong Wu." Master monk Guan who had had his hand reassuringly on Roses shoulder let go and faced them all. "Good luck on your quest I hope our paths will cross again." They all thanked him and stepped outside with their backpacks on their shoulders plus one satchel, waving goodbye. Rose handed the golden tiger claws and the lost compass who combined the Wu together so they would be teleported to the person she needed to see again. Zinira concentrated on her brother then slashed through the air creating a wormhole that would teleport them. She held onto Aaron's hand who in turn held Rose's hand. As they walked through the wormhole, Rose was the last one to see master monk Guan waving at them as Zinira determinedly lead them through the vortex.

A/N: Wow two updated in a week, I'm in a roll. I know that shaolin monks don't eat meat but in the cartoon xiaolin showdown they do. I just couldn't picture Aaron as the vegetarian type. I've just found out that there will be a continuation of xiaolin showdown called xiaolin chronicles which looks a bit… well, meh. All the readers of this fic will you let me know which side would you like to see more, xiaolin showdown or young justice? Do you want bad guys like Chase stepping in when Zinira returns to the USA? Or shall I just shut up and keep xiaolin showdown in the background whilst she is in the USA? R&R.

Shen Gong Wu properties.

Lost compass= finds whatever you're looking for.

Shifting sphere= Morphs into various non-magical items.

Golden tiger claws= slash open a wormhole in the space, allowing the user to transport themselves to any location they choose.

Tangle web comb= shoots out a string of hair from the teeth and binds the target.

Sweet baby among us= it becomes a golden baby-like giant with a large amount of strength, it also can fire gold sheets from its diaper, wrapping up anything it's directed at.

Eye of Dashi= It is a pendant, with a red ruby in the centre, that releases bolts of electricity and generates unlimited power into a desired object.

Wushu helmet= protects its wearer by deflecting attacks.


	4. Chapter 4

Diversion.

July 23rd .

At master Fung's temple, they picked up a mobile from Kimiko that had unlimited minutes when telephoning Kimiko's phone, no matter where in the world they were. It came with a strap that held it around the arm. It was supposed to be the best model for signal in even the most deserted of places. _This mobile phone was definitely going to have a hard trial_ Zinira mused. It was automatically handed to Aaron for safe keeping, since he was the only one who could work the thing. It had taken Zinira a while to figure out how the music player worked so it was best Aaron had it. Where Rose was concerned, she still hadn't grasped the idea of a coca cola dispenser. Before they could leave, Kimiko stepped in front of them with her small hand up.

"You're not seriously going to America in your _xiaolin robes?_" she pointed out. Zinira had been so busy she had forgotten to change. After years of wearing them, she had forgotten that it wasn't normal to be walking the streets of America in her robes. Aaron had the same looks of realisation as Zinira. Rose, on the other hand just look confused, she had always worn them as far as she could remember and it had never been an issue. Even when they did go hunting for Shen Gong Wu. Zinira gave Kimiko a sheepish grin.

"Go and change before you go" Kimiko said pointing an empty hall. Inside Kimiko, with the help of Clay and Omi, bought in some screens. Zinira had bought some of the less girly items of clothes she had. They were a black tank top that covered her neck as well; Black jeans, black fingerless gloves up to her elbows and non-heeled laced black boots that went to her knees covering half of her jeans. She deliberated what she would do with her hair. A single braid was getting a tad old. She decided to let her hair down and pull back the front part of her hair into a small plait at the back. That way she would not have to worry about her hair getting in the way of a fight. The eye of Dashi was still on a necklace but was hidden under her top. She stepped out and saw that Aaron had already changed. He wore blue jeans, white trainers and a plain dark blue long sleeved cotton shirt. Nothing had changed about his hair though, still as messy as ever.

"Out of all the clothes we picked out for you, you brought that!" Kimiko pouted. Zinira shrugged. Kimiko's idea of pretty was too girly for Zinira.

"Hey, if it counts for anything I think your style is cool." Raimundo said with his thumbs up.

"Thanks." Zinira muttered. It didn't really matter to her that much to be honest how she looked; she was just wanted to get going. Then Rose stepped out, she had perhaps reflected her personality perfectly with her clothes. She wore white scandals that were roman styled and matched her long cotton white skirt that reached her ankles. Her top was a loose flowing; off the shoulders, long sleeved, deep red cotton shirt. Her wavy hair was now free from the braid and reached to mid skirt, going well with her top. Zinira presumed the helmet of Wushu was in the satchel.

"Well at least someone knows how to dress around here." Kimiko said sarcastically. Zinira stuck her tongue out at her which caused a few giggles in the group. Then Kimiko changed to a more gentle tone as she examined Rose's clothes,

"You look really nice." Rose blushed and replied,

"Thank you."

"No probs girlfriend." Kimiko smiled.

"Hey, I know how it is for you girls to look nice" Aaron said earning a glare from Zinira. "But we need to get going; it's going to be sunset soon." Zinira realised he was right. They picked up their backpacks and turned to leave. After saying their goodbyes, Zinira once again combined the two Wu for a portal. They passed through the void whilst the bronze lost compass led the way, each of them keeping a tight grip on one another. They saw a light ahead and before they knew it they were tumbling downhill. When they had stopped Zinira groaned, a sapling tree had stopped her and hit her ribcage. _That's gonna leave a bruise_ Zinira thought. She looked up at the others who were getting up. Luckily they had crashed into a soft looking bush. Rose offered a hand to Zinira, helping her get up.

"Just your luck to crash into a tree." Aaron joked.

"Just your luck I haven't nocked your head off." Zinira responded in the same joking tone.

"Where are we?" Rose asked. They were at a base of a mountain with a forest behind them. Zinira pulled out the lost compass again and activated it. It was pointing directly at the mountain. This made no sense, the tiger claws should have taken them directly to her brother.

"Hold on, I'm going to try again." Zinira said to the other two. Before they could respond she slashed the air and dived into the wormhole. She followed the compass and concentrated on her brother. Suddenly she came across an invisible barrier which sent her rolling down the hill again. She was flat on her back when she came to a stop. Both Rose and Aaron were kneeling next to her with concern on their faces.

"Well, I don't think that worked." Aaron said. Both he and Rose took an arm each and hauled Zinira up.

"What happened? You went through then seconds later you came flying back." Rose asked.

"I came a across some sort of barrier and it deflected me." Zinira explained. "Sort of like the helmet of Wushu, only bigger."

"So I think it's safe to say your brother is inside that mountain and there are lots of lovely barriers up to stop civilians or bad guys getting in. In other words, this must be a super hero base." Aaron illuminated.

"That is a bit cliché don't you think?" Zinira retorted. Aaron shrugged his shoulders.

"Well it would be hiding in plain sight don't you think? How about this then, we shall both sense for metal and electricity in the mountain and thus prove my point."

"Fine. Rose can you watch out for us?" Zinira asked as she gave her the golden tiger claws and the lost compass. Rose nodded accepting the Wu and returning them to the satchel.

"I will shake you if there is any trouble." Both Aaron and Zinira sat cross legged and closed their eyes. Zinira let her mind come to a standstill. She reached out with her Chi and went into the mountain. It was a strange sensation that she had only felt twice before. It felt as if she was in the mountain and still in her body at the same time. Finally, she found an enormous supply of flowing electricity being used on large premises. She receded back into her body regaining her senses of sight, smell and hearing. Her eyes fluttered open. She looked beside her at Aaron who was also coming back to himself. He grinned at her.

"Alright, there is something there but it hasn't been proven if it is a base or not." Zinira exasperated.

"What else would your secret superhero brother be doing in there then?" He replied

"I don't know, but until we get in there we don't know whether it is a base or not."

"I think we need to find somewhere to rest and make another plan tomorrow." Rose inserted. Zinira just realised how dark it was. As much as she really wanted to continue trying to get to Richard, they needed to recuperate and create a new plan. Aaron snapped his fingers causing both of the girls to stare at him.

"I knew I was forgetting something." He said pulling out the phone from his pocket that Kimiko had given to them. "This has a GPS programme on it."

"What's GPS?" Rose asked.

"Erm…" Aaron tried to think of the simplest way to explain it. "Basically, it tells you where you are and what's around you like towns and stuff. It can also direct you to where you want to go."

"Oh." Was all Rose said. The only bad thing about the lost compass, it only pointed in the direction of what you wanted if you knew what you were looking for. Ironic really, being as it was called the _lost_ compass. Both Zinira and Rose inspected the device in Aaron's hand. It showed where they were on a map. Not far from them was a town called Happy Harbour. Bells started to ring in Zinira's head. Rose pointed to the name and said,

"Isn't that where the article was talking about." She was right.

"Looks like a nice place, as long as there are no random boats flying around, we could stay at the ocean front hotel." He said pointing to a small house symbol with three stars on it.

"But we haven't got any money and the town is miles away, we will probably get there by one in the morning." Zinira questioned.

"Leave that to me." Aaron said. He pulled out the shifting sphere and said dramatically, "Stand back." Both Zinira and Rose took a ginormous step back. He closed his eyes in concentration and the sphere started to expand. It looked like someone was playing a circular rubik cube really fast until finally on the floor in front of them was what looked like an inflated boat with a giant fan on the back.

"May I present to you, a four seated electric fuelled hybrid hovercraft that travels on land and water, with a few of my own designs." Aaron said promptly.

"You've been using that sphere without master monk Guan knowing, haven't you?" Said Zinira shocked that he could recall every detail of this machine to create it.

"Naturally." Aaron said looking at his nails. Zinira shook her head and began to choose a seat. Aaron put his arm in the way and pointed to the front right seat.

"Do you see where those silver outlines of hands are on the left and right of the seat. That is where you use your voodoo as fuel do."

"Impressive." Zinira couldn't help but compliment, he had created a new machine adapted to them. She jumped into her allotted seat. Rose was a bit more cautious to step into the machine. She wasn't used to such modern technology.

"It's okay Rose, you've got the passenger seat next to Zi, all you gotta do is enjoy the ride. And maybe move a branch that tries to knock us off." Aaron said cheerfully. Rose nodded and stepped into her seat. Both Aaron and Zinira showed her how to put the belt on. Aaron jumped into the back and took hold of the rudder, which was just a bar that attached to the large fan to direct it. An exercise that Aaron did with Zinira gave her awareness on exactly how much electricity she expelled. In voltage, amps and other stuff Zinira didn't understand. He had used a machine that had wires with metal pegs on the end which attached to Zinira's fingers. She would expel electricity and the machine came up with figures that Aaron explained. This allied Zinira' fear of sending somebody into a coma again since she could now determine a safe amount of electricity, she didn't want a repeat of the last experience. Aaron told her the voltage they needed and Zinira put her hands on the on the silver outlines. The engine roared to life as Zinira released the electricity through her hands. Aaron placed the GPS in a holder and off they went with the fan whirring around. Zinira was just glad the trees were spaced apart so well, otherwise they would not have been able to get through. After about five minutes, Rose visibly relaxed, loosening her grip on the side of the hovercraft and the belt. She seemed to be quite enjoying the wind in her face. Only twice did she have to move a low branch. They got to the edge of the town where roads were visible and Aaron stopped.

"Right we need to change into something less conspicuous." Both Rose and Zinira got out with Aaron. The shifting sphere changed back into its silver ball form. Then Aaron placed it on the road. It then transformed into a rather expensive looking dark blue car.

"This is a four seated Fisker Karma, a premium hybrid." He said proudly.

"Didn't you just say _less conspicuous?_" Zinira said mockingly. Aaron grinned,

"It _is_ less conspicuous than a hovercraft. Now, voodoo lady with the silver outlines on back seat, more room that way. I'm driving seeing as I have a license. Rose in the passenger seat. Deal?" Both the girls nodded. Using the same technique as the hovercraft, they set out for the hotel.

A/N= I have no clue about cars or stuff like that, mostly it's Google image that I choose what would be good to use. Google the images yourself if you want a better picture, writing it out gets tedious for the reader. I've started to put dates on top so the story can run alongside the timeframe. Just to confirm this is currently in season one. I will let you know when they reach season 2 (apart from the fact that they shall be grownups, scary, a grown up Aaron *shudder*). R&R.


	5. Chapter 5

The new plan.

July 24th. 

The next morning they awoke in a two bedroom hotel room, Aaron had taken the sofa, it was the biggest room they had in a small local hotel. Both Aaron and Rose had gotten breakfast and now were sitting uncomfortably on the sofa as Zinira was in deep meditation on the floor. They had both woken up and found her already like that. Just how long had she been analysing the situation? They both thought as they both glanced at each other. Finally, there was a deep sigh from the motionless figure and her eyes opened, looking at the two on the sofa.

"Well?" asked Aaron impatiently.

"Did you find anything from your insight?" Rose said giving Aaron a reprimanding look. Zinira stood up and ran her hand through her hair which was yet to be put in its plait.

"It's going to be more difficult than I thought." Zinira mumbled then continued on in a more confident tone. "Because of the position my brother is in now I needed to consider how we are to overcome some things. Like the fact that he is a superhero and he now as some very dangerous enemies. He would have no peace if his identity was revealed."

"So…" Aaron said not completely understanding her point.

"I can't just show up whilst he's in costume or his secret identity won't be so secret for long. It won't be too hard for people to make the connection. Both of us were in the news after our parents died and the fact that a billionaire became… our legal guardian." Zinira hesitated to consider that Bruce Wayne was still a legal guardian to her. It did not sit well with her. She continued. "Even if I did just show up, he would have to act like he didn't know me to protect his identity. But it would be suspicious if that happened anyway. Do you understand what I mean?" Zinira asked her two close team members. Both of them did understand; this was not a straightforward visit.

"Well why don't you visit him out of costume? He can't be a superhero 24/7!" Aaron suggested. "We know he is still with Wayne because of that charity event in the newspaper three weeks ago." Zinira shook her head.

"The Wayne mansion is most likely to have all kinds of security and won't appreciate me sneaking in to see my brother. I don't want it announced publically that I returned to see him. There would be too many questions and the paparazzi would hound us. It isn't the way I want to see him again." Zinira finished putting her right hand on her left shoulder. Rose was the first to speak taking the others by surprise.

"You're not here for just a visit are you? You want to be with him in both lives thoroughly." Rose looked into Zinira's eyes. She was right. She had read Zinira like a book. Aaron, however at this point just looked utterly confused. Poor guy, he could strip down any vehicle and assemble it again blindfolded but when it came to emotions, unlike Rose, he could be clueless at times. Zinira nodded at Rose's observation.

"Well then" Rose said smiling, the aura of wisdom radiating off of her "to get close to a superhero, you have to _be_ a superhero." Zinira's eyes lit up as she thought about it. She could be by her brother's side as he fought for justice. But a crashing realization came over her; it would take a lot of time. Would Aaron and Rose do it all for this? Would they _risk_ everything to do this? Aaron had now cottoned on to what Rose was saying.

"Don't look so down Zi! It is definably possible for us to become superheroes, or in you and Rose's case, Heroines. Already got the superpowers, fighting skills and good looks so far." Aaron said smirking. Zinira shook her head and then said,

"It's not the hero process I'm worried about. It's both of you I'm worried about." Both Aaron and Rose were about to protest but Zinira continued. "You would be risking your own safety by fighting crime, who by the way may not be shy at using their guns. Neither of you would walk out of this unscathed. Once you wear the mask, you won't be able to return to a normal life." Aaron snorted,

"I don't think our life is or will ever be normal. I've got your back."

"We are a team; we shall both be with you." Rose added. Zinira really couldn't ask for a better team. A team she had fought with (or against Aaron if his ego got too big) for years. They would stay by each other's side. Zinira smiled,

"Well we had better get started."

They spent the majority of the day searching for a place to stay for a longer length of time. Zinira would now and then discreetly bring out the lost compass to check where her brother was. It was pointing only towards the mountain which could be faintly seen from Happy Harbour. They found an apartment that was already furnished with the bare minimal. It had three small box rooms with single bare beds with hard mattresses. Which in Zinira's opinion were probably softer than the mats on the floor back at the temple. The Kitchen was small, a fridge, oven with four electric hobs, sink and two black topped units with cupboards underneath them. The kitchen and the living room were joined together, though it was hard to tell there was a living room without a sofa or TV. There was a small bathroom that consisted only of a box shower and a toilet. It was the only option they had that would accommodate them all. Zinira and Rose refused to keep using Aaron's money from his parents, as their conscious wouldn't allow it. Nevertheless, Aaron still was able to persuade to pay for the shopping bill for necessities like bed sheets and food. Zinira and Rose both were going job searching the day so they could earn their keep. Aaron was going to pay for his share with his money and stay at the apartment. He was going to be as he put it "their Charlie". His job would be to research criminal activity and design weaponry, things that would be useful in the battlefield. So when they went shopping that evening Rose was dedicated to shop for the food since she was the only one who could cook really well. Zinira took the basics like the bed sheets and shampoo. Aaron made a beeline for the nearest electrical store grabbing hold of a nifty laptop with internet. He said this would be the portal to online shopping which opened up a variety of endless supplies for our hero activities. By the end of the day, the flat was now habitable; they had full stomachs and the first step to being hero's had been made.

Both Zinira and Rose were able to get jobs at the same place as waitresses. A club called Red Chilli Peppers around the next block agreed to take them as part time staff. The owner was too busy on his phone too give them a proper interview so their age didn't seem like an issue. When they returned to the apartment it was time to consider what they needed to be heroes.

"Well for starters, we will need some new threads and masks. It's not cool to be a hero with a sweater." Aaron stated.

"We will need a first aid set in case we run into trouble." Rose included. Zinira started to organise the tasks between them.

"Right, Aaron you are in charge of tech and weaponry. Whether it is offense or defence. We also need a way to track crime." Aaron nodded and went to type quickly on the laptop. "Rose, you can be in charge of the costumes and the first aid. It would be really good if we could have some antidotes so write down the plants you need and we will order them online along with any material for the first aid and costumes." Although Rose was quite, she was very imaginative and could probably come up with great costumes. Rose nodded and went to her room to get her books on plants and first aid. When she came back in Zinira was already writing up notes on battle strategies and fighting manoeuvres and signatures, which involved more than one member of the team. They would all have their own name would let the other team members know what they were doing without tipping the enemies.

"What sort of costumes are you thinking of? I was thinking of them being based on some Chinese themes, a different one for each of us though. It would complement our martial art." Both Aaron and Zinira agreed to this. Rose continued "I shall do the base but we will choose the colours together later." Rose then went onto designing the costumes on a sketch pad. They all worked into the night and when they made some progress they hit the hay.

July 31st.

A week later they had the basics down for the vigilantly hours, thanks to next day delivery. Aaron had included radio communication earpieces for missions and was now learning a lot on the ins and outs of rechargeable batteries. If he could include these when using the shifting sphere, they would not be completely dependable on Zinira's powers, or as Aaron called it "voodoo juice". Rose had completed the first aid kit which was kept in the satchel with the Shen Gong Wu. Her room was now covered in plants though, but she didn't mind in the slightest. It was lucky she got the bedroom with a window; both Zinira's and Aaron's hadn't got one and would make a poor place for plants to grow. Zinira had come up with multiple strategies and codenames to help in battle. Like if they came across Shen Gong Wu, their codename would be "a treasure" as this could imply any sort of treasure but only they would know which type.

At suppertime, they had a meeting as they sat round the living room floor with their noodles.

"The designs are ready but we need to choose our colours." Said Rose who was sitting cross legged opposite Zinira.

"We need to have our superhero names first before we choose uniform colour. A red do would not suit a name like saviour." Aaron said jokingly, with his hands behind his head sitting next to Rose.

"Hmm… we shall need a team name as well." agreed Zinira. They discussed some options; Aaron made the occasional ridiculous title. Being named after their own elements was dismissed as it was too cliché. When they had run out of steam they sat in silence trying to come up with some identities that would not give away their own and be worthy of a superhero title. Then, all of the sudden, Rose's face lit up. She ran to her bedroom leaving her bowl of noodles on the floor. Both Aaron and Zinira looked at each other quizzically. Rose then came back with a thick book volume of some sort. When she sat down again and placed the book in front of them so Zinira could make out the title.

The Earth's natural materials.

"We could take turns to close our eyes and somebody will flip the pages. The one who is has their eyes closed has to say stop and we shall see what material is. That material shall be our name." explained Rose. Aaron eyed the book suspiciously,

"Okay… but if it is a really lame name we can try again. I would not be known as cats-eye or anything like that." Zinira agreed to do it as well saying,

"I think Rose should go first since it was her idea." Rose nodded and closed her eyes. Zinira picked up the weighty book.

"Right Rose, I'm flipping the pages… now!" As Zinira said this she flipped the pages of the thick book.

"Stop!" Rose said when they were a third way into the book. They all huddled together to see the result. It was a green opal named Verdite.

Verdite is a light to dark green serpentine rock. Most specimens come from South Africa and Zimbabwe.

"Well, that will suit your powers nicely, I think it will work." Said Aaron. Rose smiled, happy to have got a good name. Next was Aaron. Zinira did the same for him as she had done for Rose. When he said "stop" they huddled around the book once more. This time it was a silver-grey oval named Hematite.

Hematite, an iron oxide, is typically a blackish grey. When highly polished it can sometimes look like silver. Hematite is a remarkably dense material.

"Well it's got the dense bit right." Zinira teased. Aaron just rolled his eyes and thought for a moment before saying,

"I like it. It's a strong material made from a form of metal. Yeah, I'm having it. Right your turn now Zi." Rose flipped the book for Zinira. When she said "stop" they all huddled for the last time around the book. There was a black diamond type of stone,

Melanite is the black variety of the rare andradite garnet. It is sometimes known as titanian andradite.

Melanite… somehow, that name felt right to Zinira.

A/N= They will see young justice soon. Really they will! The writing in this chapter has a realistic view on how they can become superheroes using the YJ universe rules. I think the writing needs to be a little realistic in order to be believable. Soon it will be time to kick some bad guy booty! See you then. R&R.


	6. Chapter 6

New acquaintances and the cat's mask. 

August 8th.

A/N: I really want to draw these characters; maybe I will make it the book cover showing them in there casual then superhero mode. For now if you need help visualising their costumes then for the cheongsam just put in Google then Wikipedia, first picture on the right. You can do this for the Chang'ao and the Tangzhuang. Though the first few Google images for Tangzhuang are clearer so that another way of doing it.

It had taken just over another week and they were now getting used to the happy harbour neighbourhood. In their costumes. Looking for crime. They had split up and were communicating over the radio ear pieces, thanks to Aaron. Zinira, now Melanite, was crouched on top of a building watching the quite streets below. She was dressed in all black. Her tunic was a cheongsam with log fitted sleeves and came down to her mid-thigh. There were slits on both sides of her legs running from her hips to the bottom of the tunic. She wore plain fitted trousers with black knee high socks and Chinese black pumps. The eye of Dashi was kept hidden under the tunic, which was easy considering the top covered her neck. She had black gloves on and her hair was now back into a single braid. Then there was the most signifying part of the costume for a superhero, the mask. It covered the top half of her face excluding the holes for her eyes and you guessed it, it was black. It reminded Zinira of something you would see in opera or something like that. It started at the top of her forehead and came down to the bottom of her nose, leaving out the nostrils. They all had the same masks but Rose had a dark green one and Aaron had a dark grey one. Melanite shifted from her position on that roof onto another down the street of these high buildings and then to another. Thanks to her experiences as an acrobatic and from her martial art practice; she was able to leap, tightrope walk on high washing lines or any other method to get from one building to the next. She was stopped however, as a disturbance caught her attention. It was in an internet café. There were computer lights on and the odd occasional blue flashes. She pressed on the communicator in her ear,

"Melanite speaking, there is something going on in the internet café around the corner from the newsstand. I don't see any signs of break in but I'm going in for a closer look. Can you make it in the next five minutes?"

"Hematite is on the way, see you in five."

"Verdite will be there in five minutes." Zinira climbed down from the building she was using the black steel ladders that mounted the building side and cautiously approached the internet café. She went into a crouch at the bottom of its window with her back against the wall. She could hear movement now. Edging nearer to the door, she peeked inside. There was no one in range for her to see. There were heads bobbing about beyond a tall desk. Slowly she checked if the door was open. To her amazement, it was. She carefully slipped in, not wanting to be noticed. She heard a thud of someone fall to the floor and sly voice say,

"There, limit tested." Zinira peaked around the desk. There was a blond woman with glasses and a lab coat, but she wasn't alone. Zinira could only see the back of the second, which she presumed was a woman as well due to her figure and her long black hair. She was dressed in what Zinira thought to be a green short kimono, with one of the sleeves ripped off and high black legging type material along with matching gloves. Zinira quickly found the source of the thud noise. There was a man lying face down on the floor. The women in the green kimono advanced on the lady with the lab coat pulling out a Sais saying,

"Now doctor, time for my appointment." The blond women started stepping back her eyes constantly averting to a computer screen. Once the sly talking, green kimono wearing women grabbed the "doctor's" shirt, Zinira was about a make a move but they both hesitated which made Zinira hesitate. They both glanced at the screen the doctor had been eying before the black haired one said,

"So, you finished the virus. Eliminating the reason for your elimination, though not the entertainment value." Zinira knew this was not heading to good news. She shot out of her hiding place toward the sly women, who had now pushed the doctor down. Zinira hit the right shoulder blade where the chi flow for the woman's right arm flowed. Blocking it the arm became immobile and the Sais fell to the floor with a clatter. Zinira took this opportunity of distraction to put herself between the two women. Zinira knew she was not going to forget what she saw any time soon. There was creepy cat mask covering the woman's face.

"Well who do we have here?" She said glaring at Zinira through the masks eye holes. Just then both Rose and Aaron showed up behind the women with the cat's mask. Rose was in all dark green costume with a Chang'ao tunic that came to her knees. She had the same trousers and pumps that Zinira had. She also had a black slim backpack on her back containing the first aid and the Wu. Her hair was back into its thick single braid as well. Both Rose and Aaron had gloves matching their costumes. Aaron on the other hand had Tangzhuang for a tunic with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He also had plain trousers but had forgone the Chinese pumps for black laced masculine boots which would deal more damage when kicking foes. On his hips he had a utility belt with rectangle metal pouches that stored all sorts of gizmo's and the shifting sphere. His hair was just as it always was.

"This is getting _far _too interesting." The cat masked women said then faced the doctor saying "Lucky for you my orders are clear. You live to programme another day. After all doctor, the shadows may find another use for you." Billows of smoke surrounded the masked villain. Before either Aaron or Zinira could grab hold of her the smoke cleared and there was no sign of her. Rose went immediately over to the man lying on the floor and rolled him onto his back. She pulled out the fluff ended darts from his chest. Zinira went to help the doctor up and Aaron picked up the Sais examining it. The man with the tattoos covering his arms started to ster. Then there was a loud bang outside which woke him up. He rushed up then started to lose his balance. Both Rose and Aaron steadied him.

"Are you okay Doctor Roquette?" he asked

"I'm fine but that was a bit too close for comfort, I might have been dead by now if this lot hadn't stepped in." Roquette shot back. The man turned his attention to the two offering supporting hands and Zinira.

"Thank you for your assistance but I need to see what the source of that noise was." Said the dark skinned man. They all made it to the outside of the shop. Zinira could clearly see that whatever the explosion was that it had caused some damage. Some of the windows were shattered. There was a masked female clad in all green with a bow in hand with a downcast look.

"Artemis, where's the assassin?" The man asked between gasps. Whatever had happened to him must have been pretty bad if he was still struggling. Rose was eying him with concern.

"She uh… she got away." This woman called Artemis said hesitantly. All of a sudden there was a streak of black and red before another man came up to Artemis saying sarcastically,

"Whoa, from you? Big surprise! Notice, we got ours." All of the sudden a green skinned women with red hair was floating down along with some other men, out for the count and tied up. Zinira was already in a battle stance trying to put names to all these people who were popping up and decipher whether they were friend or foe. The red headed man, scratch that, teen in the dark all in one suit turned to the floor exclaiming,

"Cool, souvenir!" picking up an all too familiar cat mask. The dark skinned man no longer needed any support and stepped forward asking Artemis,

"Her mask, did you see her face?"

"It was dark." Was all that she replied and didn't completely face them.

"It is fine." The dark skinned said reassuringly. "Robin and Superboy neutralised the FOG and doctor Roquette is safe. Thanks in no small part to you." At the mention of Robin the trio of vigilantes glanced at each other. _He isn't here _thought Zinira. Artemis turned to face the group.

"Welcome to the team." The dark skinned said stepping forward to shake Artemis's hand. The red headed teen and green one also stepped towards Artemis.

"I always wanted a sister. Here on Earth I mean. I have twelve back on Mars but trust me it's not the same!" The Martian said. She came from _Mars._ Then it clicked to Zinira, she was Miss Martian and a hero.

"I uh… wouldn't know. But thanks." Artemis replied. Miss Martian elbowed the red headed teen.

"Ow." He groaned and then said. "Yeah, welcome." Artemis held out a hand to shake and the red haired one took it. They all turned to our trio.

"I apologise for not introducing us earlier, I am Aqualad, this is Kid flash." The man with the gills said pointing to the red headed teen. "This is Miss Martian." Gesturing at her. "And this is Artemis." Artemis nodded in agreement. "What happened whilst I was unconscious?" Aqualad asked.

"I'll tell you what happened." Inserted Doctor Roquette. "I was within an inch of death then she turned up out of nowhere." She pointed at Zinira. "And did something to that assassin's arm which made it drop her weapon and go limp. Then the other two showed up and the assassin disappeared in smoke." There was a tick mark on Aaron's forehead. _This women must be getting to him _Zinira mused _but I have to admit, she is a bit ungrateful._ The other superheroes had surprise written on their faces.

"Who are you?" Kid said exasperated.

"I am Melanite." Zinira provided. "This is Verdite and Hematite." Gesturing to her team mates. "We were patrolling the area and saw disturbances in the internet café and investigated."

"Are you apart of the justice league or any other organization?" Asked Aqualad.

"And who were your mentors?" Asked Miss Martian.

"We are not a part of any organization nor do we have mentors." Zinira replied, though they did have _masters_ back at the temple, the Martian was referring to superhero mentors. "We created ourselves and decided to take the role of heroes ourselves."

"Thank you for your assistance tonight. I hope our paths will cross again." Aqualad said.

X X

7th September.

Since that night they intervened the assassin's attempt at Doctor Roquette's life, they had continued to go out at night and patrol the streets of happy harbour gaining reputation. Aaron still had the Sais and was tracking down where it had come from, thus gaining a link to the assassin. They had now been in the newspapers on several occasions. Mostly it was common theft, gang fights and damage to public property. It had been decided that the team would be named: The treasured trio. They had been called back to the temple to help get some Shen gong wu which had managed to fall into Wuya's hands. It felt good to see their old comrades again and the temple. Rose was overjoyed when she saw her plants progressing. Zinira felt bad about taking her back to Happy Harbour again and offered for her to stay at the temple but she refused, staying loyal to Zinira. When Zinira got back however she got Rose a position at a garden centre. The evening and night shifts at the red chilli suited Zinira. It was always full of energy and hustle and bustle. Every Thursday they would go for a different theme to usual, last Thursday it was Burlesque. Dancing still captivated Zinira and she kept watching the show between wiping tables and serving drinks. Rose on the other hand was one more for calmer, less noisy surroundings. When Zinira stumbled across the post at the garden centre she knew it was for Rose. She had hugged and thanked Zinira when she had found out. She immediately applied and got the post, quitting the job she had at the red chilli pepper. Since then she had had nice daytime shifts doing the thing she loved the most, growing and caring for plants. The staff there had praised her and asked how she managed to make such beautiful flowers or large juicy tomatoes. She just replied that she had a lot of experience with plants. Which was true but she also had her gift to thank for. When other staffs were not around she sang to the plants and gave them that extra boost. It was also an asset to the team if she worked at the garden centre as it was providing her more knowledge about plants outside of Asia. Not only were there antidotes in the backpack now but also powder to paralyze or knock out enemies.

Aaron had been spurting out all kinds of gadgets at them. Some of them basic for everyday life, some for the superhero life. For Zinira, one had been a glove for her right hand that only allowed enough electricity to pass through to knock out enemies. One for Rose was silver, small sphere casings for the various powders she made. One touch of the red button on the top caused the contents to be forced out creating a small cloud of powder to form. The casings themselves just shattered into tiny pieces after use so after Rose agreed to use them Aaron ordered more. When they had first got them, Zinira was curious, and had pressed the red button without waiting for either Rose or Aaron to explain. She had ended up knocking herself out and Aaron was never going to let her forget about it.

"That's what happens if you just press random red button's you don't know about Zi!" he had said when she had come back round again. For himself he had ordered things like smoke bombs and a wrist guards that also shot out metal wires for him to either swing from one building to the next or tie up enemies. The duty to watch the "base", aka apartment, was now done in shifts so Aaron could go and work at the garage. Neither Zinira nor Rose thought it was fair for him to be cooped up in the apartment. Whoever was on duty listened to the device that Aaron had got that picked up the police communications. One of the things they found that they needed was mobile phones for each of them. They were often separated and needed to keep in touch. The one at base would text the others if there was any sign of trouble so they could make their excuses and leave for the apartment. They didn't change at the apartment but took their outfits and went to places like abandoned warehouses to change. It would be a bit odd and a dead giveaway if three teens went in the apartment then three known heroes came out. They also had to be careful when using the shifting sphere, it would instantly draw the attention of the public if they saw a metal sphere transform into a sports car. Aaron still would not let up on getting rid of the dark blue premium hybrid Fisker Karma and used it for their daily life. For the superhero gig however, it just got more extravagant in Zinira's eyes as he used several different types of black stealthy vehicles to get them to the crime scene.

That afternoon they had agreed to go out to a nice Greek restaurant that provided a table across the road by the sea under a flat roof supported by four Greek styled pillars. Usually when the weather was warmer the place was packed, but today it was just them out of the other eight tables available under the veranda. It was still sunny enough to eat outside though and there was nobody about to overhear what they might say, including their time as vigilantes. It had become the trio's favourite restaurant; they had good food and it was a change of scenery from daily life. After they had their meals, Rose vegetarian stuffed peppers and pork Souvlaki for Zinira and Aaron, they had a chance to talk.

"Zinira." Aaron started. "Me and Rose have been talking and since we are now officially a team we need a leader and thought you would be the best for the job. Rose is a bit too young and naive."

"And Aaron doesn't deal with responsibility very well." Rose said. "You have been our leader since we started really, without really noticing it."

"We're just making it official." Aaron finished. Zinira was surprised to say the least. She hadn't at all planned to nominate a leader; she just organized the team that was all. Aaron continued "Well, what do you say? Will you be the boss lady?" Both Aaron and Rose waited intently for her answer.

"… Are sure?" Zinira asked. They both nodded. "Okay I will!" Zinira finally said with enthusiasm. Getting caught in the moment she hadn't realised the waiter had just that second came saying,

"Would you like any deserts?" This caused Zinira to jump out of her seat in fright from the unexpected fourth voice. Both Rose and Aaron roared in laughter as she sat down and tried to compose herself.

Later on when they arrived back at the apartment they had barely stepped into it when Aaron's device started making a whirring noise before they heard a policeman reporting a theft of money from the local grocery store's till. There were four of them and were armed with knives. After the last seen location of the criminal gang was given the trio got their costumes and went out into the night.

X X

Zinira, now Melanite was rushing to the location that Rose had given. They had separated to search the area where the criminals were last seen. Aaron was also rushing to Rose. She had been cornered by the thieves. Finally, she found Rose. Zinira analysed the scene below from the top of the building before going head first into battle. There was one man unconscious in the rubbish pile and the other three were brandishing knives at Rose who was in an ally way that had a dead end. Aaron on the other hand dived straight into battle being lowered by his metal wires. He managed to knock two of the thieves down as he swung down and let Rose jump over the other side so she was not cornered any more. Zinira rolled her eyes, if Aaron had taken a little bit of time to assess the situation and see that Zinira wanted him to wait then her plan would have worked out better. She would have to talk to him later, right she needed to get down there. She jumped over to the ladders on the opposite wall and slid down to the ground. She kicked one of the two men that Aaron was trying to take on in the chest sending him flying to the wall. Aaron nodded at her and focused on the one. Zinira went to the other one she had kicked. He was getting back up and looking around for his knife he must have dropped when Zinira kicked him. He was wearing a skiing mask on like the rest of the other thieves and a dark green jacket with blue jeans with holes in at the knees. He looked like he had a pretty rough life but Zinira had no sympathy for those who turned to crime. To cause suffering to another was a low thing to do. Seeing that his knife was out of reach he resorted to his fists. He aimed a punch at Zinira's face. Zinira bent over backwards and placed her right hand on his elbow sending an electrical shock which caused him to lose consciousness. Turning she saw that Rose was still fighting hers and Aaron who had now just knocked his foe unconscious was rushing to her aid. Before they got to Rose, after a slash of the knife near her chest, she threw some seeds to the floor that grew into thick vines and grabbed hold of the criminal. Whilst he was immobilised, Rose pulled out a sphere. The powder surrounded the man's face and after a few spluttering coughs he fell unconscious.

"Nice one Verdite." Aaron complimented to which Rose blushed. Before they could do anything else a stern voice filled the alleyway.

"That was handled sufficiently." The trio turned to see the Batman himself at the opening of the alleyway. There was a streak of red and yellow and the Flash appeared next to him. Zinira's knowledge of superheroes had definitely improved.

"I missed the fight didn't I?" Flash said. Batman gave him a quick glare. Zinira was having second doubts about who Batman was; he was way too serious but then….

"How long have you been standing there?" Aaron asked boldly.

"Long enough. Who is your leader?" asked Batman. Both Aaron and Rose's gazes went to Zinira, who stepped forward saying,

"I am." Day one at being leader and now she was being held responsible in front of justice league members.

"From your previous activities and from a report on a mission you intervened, I gather that you are not working for any other agency and you are trying to serve justice. Is this correct?" Batman questioned.

"It is." Responded Zinira sincerely. Batman went in deep thought for an moment then said,

"I have a proposition for you. If and when a mission appears and extra assistance is needed would you accept the mission?"

"Yes." Zinira said confidently.

"Will you be able to travel including other parts of the world?"

"Yes." Zinira repeated.

"Then take this device." He said handing a small black gadget with a square screen over to Zinira. "Mission details will be sent from me or members of the League. Until you are deemed trustworthy and competent, accessing Justice league resources and training will be off limits. Is this understood?" Zinira nodded. Satisfied he said. "I look forward to working with you again."

"Yeah good luck." Said Flash with his thumbs up. "Glad we managed to find you." He stopped talking however due to the glare he was getting from Batman. After that odd moment did the two justice league heroes leave.

On the way back to the apartment they discussed about the night's events. They were excited about the offer.

"I think that was their way of asking us to join or work with the justice league. Which means we are finally with the pro's!" Aaron said grinning. Zinira nodded and said,

"It seems they have been trying to get hold of us, Flash gave it away I think."

"Ah well. Wonder when our mission will be?" Aaron asked the same question that was in all their minds.


	7. Chapter 7

Strange meetings and a reunion.

September 20th.

After the proposal of working alongside the professional heroes it was time to step up their game. They trained harder and more frequently, having duels with each other or practising battle manoeuvres together. The device given to them by Batman had been primarily carried by the team's leader, Zinira. However, it then became the duty of the one who was responsible for watching base. The ones that were away from the base eagerly kept their phones close for any sign of their first mission. Other than that their usual crime fighting and civilian lives, life carried on.

That afternoon Rose came back from work with an armful of shopping that she had picked up on the way to the apartment. Aaron was sitting cross legged on the floor trying to adapt the metal in a tea spoon. He wasn't having a lot of progress. He could move metal of various shapes and sizes but when it came down to changing the very shape of the metal… well he hadn't done it very often. He had to be in deep concentration to manipulate his element that way, something that was almost impossible to do in battle. The shifting sphere was pretty much the only thing that he could manipulate in that way. Whilst he was doing this Zinira on the other hand was searching through newspaper articles from the library to follow both hero and villain activities. It was also a great opportunity to build up on her knowledge of their powers, history or anything of importance. As Rose placed the shopping on the kitchen counter she said,

"There was an odd man in a suit at the gardening centre. He wasn't really interested in the flowers he was buying I think, but kept asking me questions. Things like how I ended up as a gardener and where I was from. He dressed really well and I think he was quite wealthy in the way he behaved but it was a bit odd that he should want buy from the local garden centre. I'm sure he is the type that you would expect at branded places that cost a pretty penny." Aaron frowned when he heard this.

"What did he look like? Did he have dark hair? Brown eyes? About thirty?" Aaron asked. Rose looked surprised then exclaimed,

"You have just described him perfectly!"

"He was at the garage last week, had a pretty fancy car. He came in for it to be washed but came over to talk to me whilst I was working on another car. I gave him the cover story but… I can't shake the feeling that he knew more than he was letting on." Each of them had the cover story of coming to Happy Harbour to live near the city and was going to the university in the city. They got part time jobs to support their "course". Rose was studying Botany, Zinira human anatomy and Aaron engineering since they knew these subjects well. Many people just accepted this cover story and didn't ask questions.

"What a strange coincidence." Rose added with a thoughtful look on her face. "Zinira, have you seen this man?" Zinira shook her head and answered,

"No, but it is a little strange. I don't think I will be seeing him at the chilli pepper; a man in a suit sticks out in that sort of atmosphere. He probably was visiting or on holiday from the city" Truth be told, Zinira was a bit unnerved by this strange "coincidence".

xXx

That night Zinira had a shift at the club. There was a featured guest on the semi-circle stage that was doing aerial acrobatics. It reminded Zinira of her old days at the circus. As Zinira manoeuvred between the round tables, handing out drinks, she half watched the show. The woman was beautiful in her purple all in one suit that showed her back and her auburn hair was in a bun. There was a slow paced jam tune on and she managed to perform alongside the music. Aerial acrobatics was something Zinira could see herself doing and would enjoy installing dance into the performance. She came to one of the candle lit table that had just received a customer. He was wearing black shades and a grey hoody. Even below the baggy top Zinira could see he was a good build and guessed his age to be at least thirty.

"Can I get you a drink?" Zinira said only half paying attention to the new customer.

"A sprite will be fine." He responded. Zinira nodded and drifted towards the bar, picking up empty glasses and placing them on her tray along the way. When she served the drink to the man in the shades he said in a serious voice,

"How did you come to be a waitress?"

"I applied; it was the only job available at the time." Zinira replied.

"What made you apply?" The dark headed man continued to ask.

"I needed the money for my apartment." Zinira never liked handing out information to people she did not know so she gave very simple answers. The man looked like he was going to say something else but was interrupted by the audience clapping for the performer. The red curtains covered the stage once more and some music was put on. People were slowly making it to the dance floor by the stage. All of a sudden Zinira got a loud of racket going into her left ear. Her manager was behind her and was shouting over the noise,

"We need twelve seats sorted out and a few tables put together. There was a last minute reservation for somebody's eighteenth party and they will be here in fifteen so move it!" Zinira nodded and went straight back to work grumbling to herself. She had missed the end of the show and got into her manager's reach to give her extra work when she was answering questions to that man. Zinira was glad to hang the modern work apron with the chilli pepper insignia on at the end of her shift. It had been busier than usual that night due to that party. Zinira finally made it back to the apartment's ground floor door and buzzed their apartment bell to be let in. Unknown to her, she had been followed by a figure with a black cape.

xXx

September 23rd 06:50.

Both Aaron and Rose were just getting up to join Zinira for some breakfast. Zinira didn't have work last night so she was free to get up earlier to do her Tai chi. Just as they had sat around in a circle on the living room floor to have their breakfast, a beeping noise disturbed them. They all looked to the black device by the laptop. The device batman had given them. They glanced at each other and then hurriedly put their bowls down to see what the device said. They crowded around Aaron as he picked it up. It read like this,

Your team is to meet with another team in northern India at the co-ordinance below at nine thirty. Your objective is to investigate the area in retrospect to the series of incidences that have taken place here. It has been found that civilians have been attacked by armed and intelligent animals.

There was a newspaper clips under this, the top one was about how the mayor of Gotham had an encounter with an ape armed with a machine gun.

"We need to leave right away if we want to get to India on time." Aaron said with a big grin on his face. Rose called in sick to work then they packed up and made their way to an isolated place to get changed. After this they stealthily headed toward the forest without anybody seeing them in a car with tinted windows where Aaron changed it back into the shifting sphere. From the sporty car with tinted windows it transformed into a small black aircraft. It was sleek and streamline with two large round fans in the place that the plane's wings would have been and a slim body, all of it in a brilliant black coating of paint. It was being propped up from the ground by four sturdy metal legs, one on each end of the aircraft and one at each point where he huge fans connected to the main body. Both Zinira and Rose stared at it in awe. Ladders came down from underneath the main hull.

"Ladies first." Aaron mock curtsied. Zinira snorted,

"What, no long complicated names?" She asked sarcastically.

"No. It hasn't got one yet, I haven't decided yet." He said casually rubbing his chin. That gave Zinira a shock. Had Aaron really progressed as far as to completely starting from scratch and creating his very own plane? They climbed into the hull by the ladders and found a curved computer station at the front by the wide windscreen with two seats fixed near the console. There was another chair by the back of the room with the familiar silver handprints.

"Right, Zinira gets the seat towards the back with the great view. Rose, you're on monitor duty on the left side of the console and I'll steer." Aaron said rubbing his hands together, itching to fly his newest contraption.

"I'm sure your driving licence doesn't cover this, Aaron." Zinira joked as she got comfortable in her seat inspecting the two seatbelts that crossed over each other on her chest. Rose timidly went over to her seat looking at all the controllers thoughtfully. Aaron went over to her and gently explained what she would be doing, showing her the radar screen and the GPS. She is getting better at being around technology Zinira thought but I don't think she will ever truly be accustomed to it. When they were all settled and had belts on Rose an Aaron spun their chairs round to Zinira.

"Whenever you're ready Zi." Aaron said lazily. Rose nodded and added with a reassuring smile,

"You can do it!" Zinira nodded back and set her hands on the silver pads. This aircraft would require her to control a higher voltage and current than any other technology that she had ever done. If she didn't get this right they could end up falling from thousands of feet, well, unless the battery was charged anyway. Taking a deep breath and putting on a brave leader face she activated her wu.

"Eye of Dashi!" The whole aircraft started to rumble and the two giant fans started to whirl around like a helicopter. Finally, they left the ground starting to rise above the trees as Aaron steered the aircraft. Zinira felt alive as she felt all of the electricity run through her, but it took some concentration to keep it under control. Soon they were soaring through the sky taking in the view of happy harbour.

xXx

September 23rd 21:00.

The sky had turned dark by the time they had landed near the co-ordinates in an Indian jungle. It was noticeably humid when they clambered off the plane and the earthy smell of the jungle filled Zinira's nose. She stretched when she got down; concentrating for hours not moving much really left her stiff. She was slightly weary and if it weren't for the fact that she had trained in meditation she would not be fit to continue their mission. Another side effect of the trip was that all of Zinira's loose strands of hair shot out in all directions due to static when directing the flow of electricity. Thankfully, she managed to get her hair to behave after a few suppressed chuckles from Aaron. Rose was ecstatic at their surroundings looking admiringly at some of the plants. She had the backpack with her Shen Gong Wu and first aid on her back. Aaron on the other hand managed to keep all his gizmo's in the pouches on his belt. They had decided against changing the shifting sphere back into its orb form on the journey, it would look suspicious if there were any onlookers and if the team they were working with tried to walk them back to their aircraft. Aaron pulled out a round black piece of tech and pressed a button on it causing the aircraft to bleep like a car and go into camouflage mode. Aaron had filled them in on the way all the perks that their new superhero plane had. In the end they had decided to give it a simple name, they called it the soaring treasure or the S.T. for short. They made their way stealthily to the co-ordinates, remaining hidden from view. It was twenty to ten when they came together crouching on a tree branch looking through the leaves at the ground before them. There stood Aqualad and another hero Zinira recognised as Captain Marvel. Giving the hand signal to her team mates they jumped down in front of them. Zinira was very curious as to why this "team" had only two members. Perhaps there were more, but already started on the mission.

"Oooh, so you're the new team that batman was talking about, Melanite, Hematite and Verdite." he said pointing to each of them. "I'm Captain Marvel and this is Aqualad." the caped hero said. Zinira nodded, she was in front of the three taking up that appearance of being a leader.

"We are thankful that you have joined us for this mission. We are in need of assistance." Zinira nodded and then asked,

"Are their more of you?" Curiosity getting the better of her, surely a team wasn't just the two of them.

"There are five others, some that you have already met. They... have started the mission." Zinira caught the strain in Aqualad's voice but decided against investigating why.

"What is the plan?" Zinira asked.

"We shall head out to the scene and continue from there." Aqualad replied. Zinira nodded and they followed his lead. On the way to the scene Captain Marvel kept trying to prod Zinira on more details about them. Started out with favourite colours then to what kind of super powers they had. Zinira did all the main talking but did not give specific details. Thankfully they came to the scene before Zinira could tell Captain Marvel to mind his own business. She had only known him five minutes. The scene itself had really strong evidence pointing out what happened. Aqualad on the other hand seemed really distracted. Even as they were investigating the scene and Captain Marvel was saying something to him but he didn't seem to hear him. Finally, the Atlantean turned to Captain Marvel and said,

"My apologies Captain... I am plagued by doubts. Perhaps I was wrong to withhold." Zinira was confused now. Withhold what? Why did the hero doubt himself?

They didn't get much of a warning to what was going to happen next. There was the sound of fluttering in the bushes and the ground shuddered. There were loud thumping noises that sounded like a stampede. The treasured trio were already in battle formation, back to each other and in fighting stances. Then three colossal elephants came from all directions; or what at least that's what Zinira could categorise them as. They looked... creepy and unnatural. They were super-sized and the skin was torn in several places revealing the muscles underneath. Their eyes had a strange look in them, something you wouldn't see in any normal living creature. Marvel went head on towards one of them and Aqualad pulled out two glowing sword like structures presumably from his backpack. That left the last one to the trio. After a few hand signals from Zinira, Rose and Aaron agreed to the plan by nodding. Rose retreated from the immediate danger zone; her attacks were better suited long distance. From afar, she sought out the plants vines and roots buried under the deep underground. Soon the plants had a vice grip around the unnatural animals legs. Aaron, however, did the opposite since he was strongest in close range combat. He dived straight into the chaos wrapping his metal wires around two sturdy trees on either side of the aggravated animal. The wire had enough slack to wrap around the two protruding tusks. Aaron clenched his fists and tucked his arms closer to his body and the wires visibly wrapped around the trees more making the wire taunt, bringing the head of the elephant down to the ground. Both Aaron and Rose strained to keep their pose and grip on their elements as the elephant continued to struggle. Zinira was about to go in for the final blow to knock the creature out with an electrical shock, much to Rose's distress. There was no other option though; none of her knock out potions would work on something that size. Just as Zinira was running towards the animal she heard Aqualad's voice call out, stopping her in her tracks.

"Remove the collar's!" Nodding, Zinira continued towards the animal with a new resolve. She jumped onto the trunk then to the top of the mammoth of an elephant head. Even with both Aaron's and Rose's restraints, the mammal was able to shake and fidget. Lowering herself into a crouch and carefully slid down the back of the elephants head, keeping her balance. She removed the glove that Aaron had gotten her, holding onto it with her teeth. Grabbing hold of the collar, she extended her senses to stop the current and concentrate it in one area to fry the system. The elephant ceased struggling and became peaceful. Even its eyes became ... normal. Zinira leapt off the now calm elephant, placing her glove back on. Aaron tentatively released the wire from the animal and for good measure wrapped the wire around the collar, crushing so the collar would come off. After this, Ross released the animal and it trotted off peacefully in the same direction the other two went. Rose seemed to be very pleased with the outcome, smiling and waving goodbye to the animal like it had just come to visit them rather than crush them under their giant feet. Aaron just smiled at her antics, shaking his head.

Captain Marvel went to Aaron and asked,

"If you can control metal, why didn't you just take the collar off with your powers?"

"It wouldn't have been safe for me to attempt that." Aaron replied honestly. "I have not fully mastered adaption of metal and didn't know anything about the collar. It may not have been completely metal or could have caused a reaction if I had taken control of it. So it's safer that I use the metal I know about, it was Melanite's idea." Zinira perked up at the mention of her second name. Captain Marvel nodded in understanding. Aqualad spoke up saying,

"You work well as a team."

"We have fought alongside each other for a long time." Zinira answered.

"Pretty sweet, the way you figured out that the problem was the collars." Captain Marvel appraised Aqualad.

"But the collars indicate intelligence behind this attack. The rest of the team may also be at risk." Aqualad replied then placed two fingers to his left ear. "Team; report status. Augh, com is jammed and Miss Martian failed to establish a telepathic link before we split up."

"Actually, you let everyone split up before communications were set." Captain Marvel countered.

"They would not listen!" Aqualad said exasperated.

"I guess, but back at the cave, Batman stopped everyone arguing with one word."

"But Batman is... Batman." Aqualad finished lamely.

"Hey, you don't have to tell me." Captain Marvel replied light heartily. "When I first joined the league, all he ever did was boss me around and it's hard not to take it personally. But, I never disobeyed an order and that's probably what kept me alive."

"Batman takes command." Aqualad said in realisation. "He has to, for the good of the league. Thank you for helping me understand."

"Hey, wisdom of Solomon." The Captain replied. Then out of the blue, Aqualad placed his right hand by his head and ordered,

"Yes Miss Martian, report." He wandered a little way a way from Captain Marvel with the look of concentration on his face. Had his com started working? Captain Marvel on the other hand was concentrating on something in the long grass, then suddenly said,

"Cool, a tiger! I'll be right back." With that he leapt off toward the grass. Aqualad tried to object,

"Captain wait!" But said Captain was already well on his way. "Hey, speed of Mercury." Aqualad said sarcastically. They set out after the wandering Captain. Aqualad seemed to be concentrating with his hand frequently going to his temple. The treasured trio were behind him, following his lead and sharing glances with each other. Zinira thought that this wasn't what they were expecting at all. Perhaps they were still new to completing missions without mentors. Aaron and Rose came to the each side of Zinira as they stepped into a clearing. The scene that met them was four metal poles sticking up from the ground and clear tracks leading away from the surrounding. Aqualad knelt down to examine the tracks then stood up suddenly ripping one of the poles from the ground. There was no warning that he was going to take such a violent action, the trio visibly tensed. He dropped, or more like shoved, the pole to the ground. After taking a deep breath he turned to the trio and said in a confident tone,

"Captain Marvel has been captured; we are going to meet up with the rest of the team." Just as Zinira had pieced together, the Captain must have wondered into a trap, the poles were very similar to those in the report batman had sent them on the Mayer's account on the incident. Aaron interrupted before Aqualad could continue,

"How are you still communicating with your team, the area is thick with static still. Are you using this 'telepathic link'?"

"Yes, Miss Martian has the ability to telepathically connect the team. I advise that you are also included in the link." Aqualad replied. Zinira didn't like this one bit. Exactly how much of their minds would the Martian see? An idea came to Zinira, it could prove risky but it had worked in the past, especially against the mind reader conch.

"I shall join the link and relay anything to my teammates." Zinira stated. Aqualad looked momentarily surprised then nodded. Both Rose and Aaron seemed to just as uncomfortable about the idea as Zinira had been. Zinira gave them a reassuring nod before she felt and heard a familiar voice inside her head,

"_Welcome online Melanite!"_ From then on, Zinira let her mind go completely blank and put all her concentration either into reciting basic Kung Fu stances. The voice returned,

"_Don't worry; you don't have to cover up information that way. Nobody on the rest of the team will see that anyway."_ Zinira imagined a glowing sphere in her mind to be her voice and replied,

"_But you can, can't you?"_ It was more a statement rather than a question. The voice went quite. Another loud obnoxious voice filled her head,

"_What you two talking about?"_ Zinira recognised it to be the red headed teen.

"_It is not important."_ Zinira said simply. _"What is the next step Aqualad?" _They agreed on a place to meet before going after Captain Marvel.

After a while, Zinira got the hang of keeping the concentration up and hearing voices in her head. Zinira, however, felt the presence leave her mind as they closed in on the meeting place. The Martian herself came floating into the clearing and soon the rest came from the bushes, including one that she had not met before. She presumed that it was Superboy, considering how uncannily he resembled superman. Then her eyes finally came to Robin, in the flesh. Her heart was filled with silent relief. He was definitely taller than she remembered him. Her face remained blank and tried very hard to keep it that way. She turned her attention to Aqualad and tried to keep her excitement down whilst listening to Aqualad's plan. When it was time to leave, Zinira was connected back up to the link and repeatedly recalling the stances calmed her down enough to think clearly. At the end of the tracks they came to a stone building surrounded by trees. This would be her first fight alongside her brother.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

Mind reader conch= is a Shen Gong Wu that allows its user to hear the thoughts of others.


	8. Chapter 8

So close, yet so distant.

September 23rd 22:30 (time in Northern India).

They all surrounded the stone building with overgrown plants sprouting over it. It looked like a very old building that you could mistake for a ruin and waltz straight in from afar, but looks could be deceiving. Aaron had gone with Robin and Kid Flash to break into the defences. Zinira could see them from her position above with Aqualad, Artemis and Rose. The familiar voice of Miss Martian suggested in her mind,

"_I'll fly over."_ Referring to the enemy's base. However Kid Flash interrupted,

"_Negative, the field is standing like a dome over the whole compound."_

"_The Pylons are insulated as well." _Aaron inputted.

"_But one good shot could cause a momentary gap."_ Robin added. It was so strange to hear her brother talk in such a way, he had become… well like Aaron. A very technical and logical person. He wasn't the little brother she had known.

"_I see a target."_ Artemis stated. Everybody's eyes followed her line of sight and saw a control panel.

"_Then be ready to hit it. Be ready all of you." _Aqualad said meaningfully. He then turned to Zinira and said by the mind connection. "_Melanite, will you be able to assist me to create a gap for Artemis?" _Zinira nodded her head and gave a signal to Rose to stay put. Aqualad and Zinira then proceeded stealthily down to the force field. They both placed their hands on the field and separated the electricity to create a hole.

"_Now!"_ Kid Flash indicated to Artemis to shoot her arrow. It hit the intended target. Aqualad and Zinira released their hold then indicated for the rest of the team to join. A shrill cry from a monkey was heard from on top of the building and two red lights went off either side of the monkey whilst other monkeys were streaming in. So much for a sneak attack. They were then surrounded by monkeys. Aqualad tackled one then shouted to the rest,

"Remove their collars!"

"Sounds easy when he says it." Robin grumbled under a couple of monkeys. Even in this situation, Zinira couldn't help but smirk. He still had his sense of humour then. However the monkeys were removed from him with the help of Artemis, which the favour was promptly returned when Robin shot devices at two monkeys behind her. Zinira and Aaron were back to back surrounded by four of them. Rose on the other hand was at a distance to the fight, following Zinira's orders. All the monkey's seem to dive in all at once towards them. Zinira reached over with her hands to Aarons shoulders behind her. Aaron understood the move she was suggesting and grabbed her wrists and flung her round in a circle knocking the monkey's to the ground. Before they could get back up again, Rose sent roots from the ground to immobilize them. Zinira and Aaron quickly went around taking the collars off before Rose released them. At that point a huge gorilla came out of the main entrance. A gorilla with ammo strapped to its back and a huge gun on its right arm. Zinira had seen some things during her stay at the temple but now things were getting strange. The huge Gorilla paused and sniffed the air for a moment before reaching out behind it and grabbing something before slamming to the ground. In that same place, Miss Martian appeared into view. The Gorilla pointed its gun directly at her but before he could do anything Kid Flash interrupted,

"Get your paws off her you darn dirty ape!" He was rushing straight for the Gorilla. Zinira thought he was only trying to distract the Gorilla from Miss Martian but no he really did mean to do a full frontal attack and bounced straight off the gorilla's chest. Zinira had the most overwhelming urge to face-palm at his stupidity. Before he could come to any harm, Miss Martian came round and used her psychic powers to push the Gorilla through the wall. Many of the team followed through the gap but Zinira, her team and Superboy held back for the next phase of their plan. Superboy went off to the other side of the building and Zinira's team followed along with a great white wolf that was eager to stay by Superboy's side. At Aqualad's signal, Superboy created a hole in the wall allowing Aaron to use his metal ropes to grab hold of the control device and Zinira to fry it. The rest of the team was free. The white wolf went straight into battle followed by the other team members all having a part in bringing down the Gorilla. Aaron jumped straight into joining the others by throwing explosive gadgets. Zinira went to help Aqualad, sending a warning strike of lightning near the brain to stop him shooting at Aqualad. Rose came in joining the rest when they circled the two villains. Captain Marvel also was freed by Aqualad and was joined by the tiger. The Gorilla roared in annoyance at them all.

"Try it, I hate monkeys." Superboy goaded.

"No Mala, this will not be our waterloom." The Brain interrupted. Two parts came out of his robotic body as he spoke. "au revoir mesome." He added gravely, an audible charging process sounded through the room.

"Get down!" Kid Flash cried urgently. Zinira's teammates fell behind of Rose as she placed the Wushu helmet on. The lights went off. It was all quite. Then then lights started flickering back on. The villains were nowhere in sight. Everyone relaxed their stance and Rose took the helmet off. Kid Flash broke the silence,

"Wait, that big weapon thing was … a light switch?"

xXx

The light was starting spread into the night sky and crickets could be hard from every direction as the humid air started to warm up. Zinira and her team walked with the young heroes back to their spaceship. On the way Artemis and Kid Flash were having banter.

"What are you grinning about?" she asked.

"One word, Souvenir." He said excitedly.

"Two words, Gorilla lice." She replied. Which made Kid flash instantly take the hat off.

"Aww man!" He exclaimed. Aaron was snickering and Zinira couldn't help but smile. This team wasn't so bad, they did some stupid things but they looked out for each other. They looked out for Robin. They had made sure that all of the animals were now collar free. Aqualad was now just taking the collar off of a monkey.

"That's the last of the collars?" Captain Marvel asked the tiger. Another talent that he seemed to have was talking to animals. The tiger roared in response.

"I can count on you to keep the other animals out of trouble?" The tiger roared again in response. "Good. I'll be back for another visit. Promise." After this the tiger gave one last roar and left. Captain Marvel waved goodbye and stated "I think I'll call him Mr. Tawney." Over by the white wolf Superboy was deliberating on keeping the furry canine. Zinira was too focussed on Robin, or as she knew him Richard. They had fought side by side but she never had the chance to even talk to him. She was still glad she came; at least she got to see him. It was a matter of a waiting game to see how things played out ad whether it would be safe for her to tell him some day. She was brought back to earth when Robin said to Aqualad,

"Look, I need to know. Why did you keep the mole Intel a secret?" Everybody then became interested and crowded round. _There had been a mole in the team_? Zinira thought, tensing up.

"The source of the tip was Sports Master." Aqualad responded.

"What! You can't trust him!" Artemis cried.

"I do not. It seemed possible, even likely that he was attempting to divide up the team with false information." Aqualad spoke seriously.

"And given how this mission went, he nearly succeeded. But you had to consider it might be true." Robin said thoughtfully. The new information was being absorbed by Zinira and by the looks of it, her teammates as well.

"Yes, as leader I did. In which case, I did not wish to alert the traitor." Aqualad continued.

"Hate to say it but it makes sense." Robin admitted.

"I am still prepared to step down." Aqualad said facing the team.

"All in favour of keeping Aqualad as leader." Kid Flash asked the rest of the team putting his arm up. The rest of the team followed and even Aaron did as well. Rose and Zinira got what he was doing and joined in.

"Wait. You're not even in the team." Kid Flash said confused. Aaron shrugged his shoulders and replied,

"No but I felt like joining in and he does have some leadership qualities."

"Point taken." Kid Flash retorted. Aqualad nodded accepting the decision.

"Guess it's unanimous." Captain Marvel said as he strolled forward and shook Aqualad's hand. "See you tomorrow." He said waiving and walking off.

"You're not coming with us?" Aqualad inquired.

"Nah, gotta fly." With that he flew off. Aqualad turned to us,

"Thank you for all your help, do you need a lift?"

"No, our ship is not far from here." Zinira answered. Aqualad nodded.

"I hope we shall meet again soon." They said their goodbye's and the three treasures went back to the ship. On the flight home Aaron decided to tease Zinira to pass the time,

"Did you hear that Zi, Aqualad wants to see you soon."

"You'd better concentrate on flying this thing cause we could be crash landing in a minute whilst I Kick your butt if you don't shut up!" Zinira said agitated. Aaron just grinned and turned back to the dashboard. They were all glad that because of the time difference, it was only eleven pm when they got back to Happy Harbour. Zinira found her way to her bed and snuggled under her blanket, it had been a busy day she could afford not to get up tomorrow to do Tia Chi in the morning. The last thing she remembered before going to sleep was practising gymnastics with her brother when they were young. The thought made her smile. She wondered if he would be thinking of her?


	9. Chapter 9

Training.

September 27th 10:32 am.

Zinira and her team were now well rested from their trip to India, they had had one call out to get a Shen gong wu but that was quickly resolved as only Jack Spicer had turned up. They were all off from work and it was a lovely day crime free day. Rose had decided to go back and visit the temple for the day as she sorely missed her home. Zinira also told Aaron that it would be a good idea to take this opportunity to see his own family; she would keep an eye on the area.

"At least let me give you the portable radio so you don't have to be stuck in the apartment all day." Aaron pointed out. "Ring if there is any trouble." So with that they took the golden tiger claws and Zinira was left with the portable radio. She decided to go for a walk on the beach, after all, if you lived so close to it you had to take advantage of it. Zinira also took the lost compass and her own Shen gong wu the eye of Dashi. It was rare nowadays not to take her elemental Shen gong wu, she felt somewhat comforting to have it hidden away under her shirt. When she arrived at the beach she found a part that wasn't crowded and walked down the length with her shoes of and her trousers rolled up. She had kept her elbow length fingerless gloves on which probably did stand out in the fashion world a bit. The crystal blue water flowed over her feet; it felt so cool compared to the warm sand. Her hair black silk hair mostly loose with only her bangs put into a plait to the back; was flowing with the wind. She concentrated on this feeling in her feet and went into a meditative state. Not even realising she was walking towards the mountain at the edge of Happy Harbour. A wave came in and covered her feet then drifted out again, drifting in and drifting out…

A voice snapped her out of this state, a very familiar voice.

"Excuse me miss, does this belong to you?" The voice was deep and belonged to a dark tall man. His eyes were pale green much like the depths of the sea and his hair was fair blond. He was wearing a blue and black jacket that also covered his neck with black trousers. He also had black sandals. He was holding out the Lost compass.

"Yes, where did you find this?" Zinira said berating herself for not being aware that it was no longer in her pocket.

"It was on the sand not too far away. It is a very unusual trinket, what is it?" He asked with his head tilting slightly, referring to the golden sphere composing of two circle bands crossing each other to make the frame of the Shen gong wu. Inside was an arrow which when activated spun 360 degrees inside the sphere.

"It's just a piece of jewellery that my family gave me" Zinira half lied placing it securely back into her pocket. Technically it was jewellery and technically the temple could be counted as her family. He nodded his head and said,

"Sorry I have not introduced myself, my name is Kaldur." Now his voice really was annoying her, she just couldn't place where she had heard it before.

"I am Zi." She replied. She really did need to leave now before the…

"All vehicles are to head towards Saint Avenue. Two armed thieves heading west." A static voice broke through the conversation. Too late, the portable radio had gone off.

"Was that… a police radio?" Kaldur asked in a shocked voice.

"No just my normal one. Guess it's just picking up other stations." Zinira lied badly. She knew full well that the police radio station was too secure for regular radios to pick up. "Any way, it was nice to meet you but I've got to go, need to meet up with some friends."

"Very well, it was nice meeting you too Zi." Kaldur said sincerely. Zinira walked off and waited until Kaldur was out of sight before she briskly started to jog back to the apartment, scrambling her boots on.

September 27th 08:30pm.

Zinira hadn't called Aaron or Rose to deal with the thieves, she could handle them herself and she wanted to give them time off as they needed it. It was a surprise to see Aqualad at the scene but they soon worked together and apprehended the thieves. His water abilities and her electricity had worked together really well considering they were apposing elements. She had felt something nagging at the back of her mind about Aqualad whilst she was fighting with him; but just put it down to the fact she had not got her team with her.

She had just sat cross legged with a cup of ramen when the familiar golden glow of the tiger claws filled the room. Soon after, Aaron and Rose appeared. They all had a quick catch up about what they had done that day. Rose had bought back herbs and Aaron brought an invitation to join his family at Christmas. They all agreed that it would be a good idea to go if nothing else cropped up. Zinira gave a brief outline about the robbery.

"That's quite a coincidence." Aaron stated "Last time I checked Aqualad didn't patrol this area and he hasn't really helped with any other crimes we've had. Are you sure you're not just infatuated with him and called him just to see him again?" he said slyly.

"No" Zinira bluntly said. "I don't have any way of contacting him in any case." She was getting irritated by this old joke. Aaron just shrugged. Rose watching the whole thing intently, being raised by monks she didn't quite understand why people beat around the bush like this. They all retired for the night. As Zinira's head hit the pillow she thought to herself things were moving too slowly for her it. It was time for her to leave clues for her brother so they could discreetly finally see each other again and fight side by side as siblings. As Graysons.

September 28th 08:15 am

As they all were preparing breakfast the gadget that Batman had given them gave them a rather cryptic message. All it contained was a meeting point by the mountain on the outskirts of Happy Harbour and a time.

"Finally, we're actually going to see the base!" Aaron exclaimed.

"It might not lead to that; it could just be a point to meet up to go to another mission." Zinira said rationally, although secretly she was excited about the idea. They all found a place to gear up in their superhero gig and Aaron produced another flashy technical black car. When they arrived they found a blonde woman waiting there for them. She was wearing a blue jacket, a black one-piece bustier-leotard and grey stockings. Zinira recognised her as one of the justice league.

"Hello, I am Black Canary. Batman has instructed me to start training you today." She said quite seriously but still with a smile on her face. Zinira just nodded to that.

"If you will follow me we can make our way to the training room." She said as she walked towards the mountain. They followed and came to a part of the mountain that looked like every other part of the mountain. Black Canary placed her fingers to her right ear and said,

"Tornado, can you open the front passageway." There was a slight noise coming from where she had placed her fingers and Zinira noticed the ear com. The part of the mountain that they were facing grumbled and slid down revealing a large secret passageway from a slope leading down. Zinira gave Aaron and Rose a glance, they had the same surprised but excited looks on their faces. They followed the heroine through. A robotic voice sounded as lights went on Black Canary,

"Recognized, Black Canary. One. Three." As they walked through each of their hero names and a number was given. It was kind of strange to think that they were being scanned and it recognised them. Finally, they came to a large room with two glowing screens held in mid-air. Otherwise the room was pretty bare. Black Canary went to the screens and typed something into the hovering keyboard.

"Sweet, Holographic computers!" Aaron exclaimed. Zinira rolled her eyes and Black Canary just gave a small smile. Part of the floor lit up as a giant circle. Black Canary then continued to speak into the screen,

"All team members report to the training room." Her voice echoed through the mountain. She turned back to Zinira and her team. "You will receive regular training under my supervision with other team members." She explained. Metal doors slid open to reveal the team that they had gone to India with. Zinira's heart fluttered once more when she saw her brother.

"Right, first off we will have Aqualad and Superboy." As they fought each other Zinira quickly learnt more about this circle. When you did a fault it would show minus points and if you hit the floor a status showing fail came up. It was a very futuristic way of training but it wasn't that dissimilar from training at the temple.

"You're up Melanite." Black Canary said after they had finished their match. Zinira stepped into the circle. "Who would like to be the competitor?" Canary asked. Both Aaron and Rose pointed straight away to the other team. Canary raised an eyebrow,

"Why would you not want to fight your own teammate?"

"Because she's hard to take down." He said simply. Rose nodded in agreement. Zinira was so confused now, why on earth was they putting her on a pedestal now, they never acted like this when they usually trained.

"Very well, any other volunteers?" Canary asked.

"I'll take her on." Kid Flash spoke up and joined into the circle with Zinira. "You may be a good fighter but you'll never catch up to me babe." He said in a very cocky manner. The pet name irritated Zinira and she decided she was going to wipe the floor with him.

"Don't count on it." Zinira said as she got into a fighting stance.

"Begin." Canary said as soon as they were ready. Kid Flash immediately went to using his super speed to run circles around her. All she could see was red and yellow. Zinira knew he was just showing off now but eventually he was going to strike. She opened her senses and waited for the right opportunity. The pattern of the way he was running in circles changed and Zinira took the moment and dropped down into a split as he was coming at her. He fell over her right leg and the circle showed a fail. She didn't have time to rejoice in the little victory, she had to prevent him from going into super speed. She had a hunch that he relied too much on his superpower and his hand to hand skills were not as effective. As he stood up she went into full attack whilst he blocked poorly with the occasional strike back. She was keeping him so preoccupied with defending himself he could not go into super speed. He was gradually losing his confident demeanour and with it his focus. As he struck out to punch her she took the opportunity to grab his arm and throw him over her shoulder. The floor showed another fail sign. Kid Flash groaned from the floor. Robin cackled in the background.

"Very good." Canary praised. "Who will be next?"

"I will." Superboy said seriously as he stepped into the ring and Kid Flash stepped out nursing his rib.

"Alright then, begin." Canary said cutting through the already building tension. He charged right at her and she jumped and flipped over him. From what she knew of Superboy, he relied on brute strength and durability to win a fight. His fighting style was very forward. As the fight progressed she gained minus points as some of her doges and blocks failed her. She had her arms held in front of her in an X formation to defend an oncoming punch. It sent her skidding backwards with additional minus points. She was still standing when she stopped. _That's going to leave a nice big bruise _Zinira thought to herself. Time to step up her game, if he was using super strength then she would use some of her own ability's in retaliation. As he came at her she twirled around and ended up behind him as he was going to punch her again. She quickly identified his pressure points and dealt out a series of punches slightly charged with electricity to paralyse his upper torso. She jumped back to see the results. Superboy turned to face her, he was visibly slouching slightly and his upper movements were a lot slower than before but he was still moving. Zinira was gobsmacked. Anyone else would not be able to move their complete torso with that kind of block never mind raise a fist. He came at her once again but his strikes weakened and slower. Through this, Zinira managed to get him on the floor with a fail sign appearing. It wasn't easy but she had managed to, although she did have more minors than him.

"That will be enough for now." Canary stated. As Superboy got up he asked,

"What was that, I've never seen that before."

"I blocked your Chi so it would leave you paralysed. It didn't work tho."She replied. He nodded. "Would you like me to unblock it so you don't have to walk slouching for the next few hours?" Zinira offered. Superboy just grunted and Zinira took it as a yes. She placed her fingertips on his back and traced lines down the main chi pathways giving pulses of electricity when she came to a blockage. Soon he was standing straight again.

"Thanks." He mumbled.

"Er.. Your welcome she said awkwardly." She replied.

"Hey, no fair. You didn't unblock my Chi the last time you did that!" cried Aaron.

"It's your own fault for trying to see what was in my mail." Zinira replied. Black Canary chuckled,

"I see that martial art is very much your strong suite. Let's try you against your own fighting suite. Robin you're in next." Zinira's excitement started to bubble when she heard this. Robin came into the ring with a huge grin on his face,

"From what I've seen, I don't think I need to take it easy on you." Zinira only grinned back, getting into her fighting stance. This was a chance to drop him a clue. A memory came to her mind of one time he got too close to a tiger in a cage at the circus and it had roared and scared him at the last minute, she had told him not to trust a quite tiger. If she could somewhat repeat that he might get the hint. For now she just wanted to see how good he was.

"Begin" Canary's voice cut through her thoughts. They fought at quite an equal level of skill, perhaps Zinira being a shade better than Dick. Neither of them seemed to be gaining the upper hand. When she had seen enough she jumped back from the fight and stood straight with her fingers interlinked and her eyes closed. Robin looked confused for a moment, then stood up and said,

"Erm… aren't we supposed to be fighting?" Zinira didn't answer. Robin slowly got closer and closer. Robin waved his hand in front of her but got no response. She heard his voice at arm's reach.

"Okay, if that's how you want it. Don't blame me if you…" He was cut off as Zinira pulled his right arm putting him slightly off balance. She took this opportunity to bring her right arm across his chest to knock him down. A fail sign showed up beside his head. Zinira offered her hand and he took it as he got up.

"Guess I should have seen that one coming." He said as he rubbed the back of his head still smiling.

"Don't trust a quite enemy." Zinira said seriously. An emotion flashed across his face and Zinira was sure he was remembering the same memory. Before she could read anymore of his expression the robotic female voice filled the room.

"Recognised Batman. Zero. Two." Batman stepped out of a flash of light and came to address everyone.

"I hope training was productive." He asked in his usual serious tone.

"Quite." Canary replied. Batman nodded then faced Zinira,

"The Justice league has permitted us to offer you lodgings here in mount justice. You will continue to train under black canary and work alongside the team during missions. You will have access to enter and leave mount justice. Your current location is not secure enough." As he said that it felt that the wind had been knocked out of her, more than any of Superboy's punches. How had he figured out where their base was? They had tried everything within their power to keep it a secret. She looked at her teammates faces, they were just as shocked. Sensing their hesitation batman said sternly,

"I will give you time to consider the offer but do keep in mind that it is for your own protection." With that he walked back to the bright light. Before he reached it he paused and said,

"By the way, Melanite." Zinira perked up to this. "Nice tactic." He said referring to when she was fighting Robin. He disappeared into the bright light.

"Whoa. Did she just get a compliment from Bats?" Kid Flash said in awe. Zinira was starting to get embarrassed as everyone looked at her.

"I think that is enough training for today." Canary said thankfully releasing Zinira from their stares. Zinira and her team said their good-byes and left the mountain with a few directions on how to get out from black Canary. As they were driving back to base it was quite in the car as they were all thinking about Batman's offer. They would have a lot to discuss when they got back.


End file.
